Lessons in Loyalty
by SuzukiChiyeko
Summary: Rejection can be a terrible thing, especially if one's never given a single chance in the first place. When Akihiko is rejected by the love of his life, he closes his heart to the concepts of love. Can Misaki help Akihiko learn to love again? Rated M for adult content. Co-written with lv90047!
1. Prologue

******lv90047**: Hey everyone! Whitney here! Thank you so much for choosing this story. For a while now, me and my friend, SuzukiChiyeko have had similar ideas for a certain storyline...and after a tremendous amount of PM messages, we decided to collaborate and share our ideas together. I hope you all enjoy this story we conjured.

**We do NOT own Junjou Romantica! That right belongs to the wonderful Shungiku Nakamura!**

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**Prologue  
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Walking side by side, Akihiko and Takahiro made their way to Takahiro's house. It was spring break, exactly one month after Akihiko's eighteenth birthday. There were cherry blossoms blooming in the park, their light pink petals dancing through a gentle breeze.

It was a beautiful day, comfortably warm and fresh as nature was slowly growing back to life. Takahiro admired this, taking in every detail, but his friend didn't even notice the beauty of spring. Akihiko was too focused on the raven-haired male next to him, wearing that carefree smile.

"Takahiro," the young male said in a husky voice, "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Takahiro asked curiously and he climbed the stairs to the apartment, hand digging into his pocket to find a key.

There was a long pause before Akihiko spoke again. He had been wanting to tell Takahiro this ever since he realized his feelings, but right then the nervousness was getting the better of him. All he could do was wait for his friend—the person he cared about most—to open the door and welcome him inside. When Akihiko stepped inside and took off his shoes, brown eyes studied him worriedly.

"Usagi?" A lavender gaze darted up. "Is something wrong? You seem troubled."

Akihiko gave a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine, but what I'm about to tell you is very important."

Takahiro cocked his head as he put his shoes down. "What do you want to tell me?" He frowned when his friend took a very deep breath. It was unusual for Akihiko to look so nervous around him; he always seemed so calm, almost stoic.

Clenching his fists, Akihiko gathered his courage to speak the words. "Takahiro, I…I like you." The words slipped out surprisingly easy, yet Akihiko felt as though he had just achieved something big.

However, his good feelings vanished when Takahiro smiled at him sheepishly. "Of course you like me, Usagi," Takahiro replied cheerfully, "How could we be friends if you didn't like me at all?"

Right then, Akihiko felt very tempted to do a facepalm, but he decided against it. After all, he knew what an airhead Takahiro was, so it was stupid of him to expect that his friend would understand him with that choice of words.

"That's not what I meant."

Knitting his eyebrows, Takahiro kept staring at Akihiko. "Then…what do you mean? I don't think I understand."

"My feelings of 'like' aren't in the meaning of friendship." Lavender eyes looked at the other intensely. "Takahiro, I want you to know that I love you."

There, he had said it. All he had to do was wait for his beloved one's reply, yet this thought did nothing to calm him down at all.

Takahiro looked confused beyond words, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. There was disbelief written all over his face and this pained Akihiko. Of all people, Takahiro should've been the one to know that Akihiko never joked about his feelings.

Finally, the brunet coughed and pushed up his glasses. "I-I don't know what to say," he admitted, shifting uncomfortably, "Really, I had no idea you felt this way about me. How long have you been in love with me?"

"I fell in love with you during our finals," Akihiko replied truthfully.

"So then, that would be…two months ago?" When his friend nodded, Takahiro's expression saddened. "I'm sorry that I never noticed, Usagi. As your friend, I should be able to understand your feelings, but I was oblivious to all of this."

Akihiko emitted a soft sigh. "Takahiro, you know how I feel about you now, but how do you feel about me?"

"Eh, what?" Takahiro questioned, giving the other a surprised look.

"I want to know if you can return my feelings."

Unfortunately, the young adult said nothing.

"Takahiro?"

"…I'm sorry, Usagi," Takahiro began, lowering his head, "You're my best friend and I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can't say that I love you. If I said that, I would be lying. Perhaps, if you had been a girl the situation would've been different, but you're a guy." He took a deep breath. "I'm not gay and I don't think that will ever change."

Akihiko could feel his heart break slowly, but he masked this with a faint, fake smile. Nodding in understanding, he leaned back against the wall. "I understand," was all he could utter.

"Usagi, I'm really sorry. I hope that you aren't mad at me for—" Takahiro silenced himself when Akihiko shook his head.

"I could never be mad at you…"

"Then, can I ask you if we can still be friends?" There was an uncommon amount of carefulness within Takahiro's tone, almost as though he was terrified of hurting Akihiko's feelings even more.

Akihiko sighed. "Of course, Takahiro." He grinned, masking the pain in order to spare the other man. "We can always be friends."

The brunet's face lit up like the sun at that remark. "Great!" he exclaimed as he patted his friend's shoulder encouragingly, "Oh, I'm so glad we can just be friends!"

Agony ripped through the young author from that careless choice of words—but his face revealed nothing but a mask of glee. "I am too," Akihiko breathed, a faint smile traveling throughout his lips, "You have no idea how much this relieves me."

"I know!" Takahiro gushed, "I'm so happy we could save this friendship!"

Another wave of torture plunged through the man's heart, breaking him silently. For a moment, he honestly considered telling the brunet how he truly felt; yet, when looking into those beautiful brown eyes, he decided against it almost immediately. It wasn't his place to bring sorrow into Takahiro's world. He'd never forgive himself if he burdened his friend like that—no matter how much of an airhead he could be.

Akihiko wondered what Takahiro saw on his face. Fearing to expose his true feelings, he quickly composed his features into the same serene mask, making it impossible for the brunet to identify it.

"Usagi..." Takahiro whispered, confusion coursing through him. "Are you alright?"

For the sake of his friend, Akihiko nodded.

"I'm fine, Takahiro," Akihiko said remotely, his face wiped all clean of emotion, "You really don't need to worry—I'll deal with it."

"But—"

"I have to go," Akihiko interrupted, turning around only to grab the jacket he had taken off a few minutes ago. "I have other errands to run—I'll talk to you later."

"Usagi!" Takahiro called out, "Wait—!"

"I'll talk to you later," Akihiko repeated, never once meeting his friend's gaze.

And before the brunet could react, Akihiko was out of the door.

The man sighed. In his haste to get away, he realized his actions were rather harsh, but he honestly couldn't bear to spend another second with Takahiro. That voice of his tormented the young author; it'd unleashed a pain so unbearable that it'd nearly astonish Akihiko with its force. He needed to get away...and it had resulted into this.

Seeing how it was too late to go back, he kept walking until he was out of the apartment complex. Even then, he didn't stop. Time made no sense as he continued walking throughout the streets, ignoring anything—and anyone—in his path. It felt like hours were passing when it was only a few mere seconds. Maybe it felt like time had frozen because the city just looked the same, no matter where Akihiko went.

Honestly, he was surprised by how calmly he took the situation. Over and over again in his mind, he had pictured the outcome much, much worse. Yet, the more he thought about it, the less he began to understand; his mind was still in a state of shock. He couldn't feel anything below his neck, because everything was so numb.

Finally, the journey had seemed to end as he noticed his home standing before him. Without wasting another moment, he robotically walked into the penthouse, took the elevator, and opened and closed the door behind him into his private suite.

For a moment, the man did nothing. He was merely leaning against his front door, unsure of what to do. He then studied the empty room, his gaze traveling around until he caught sight of picture lurking against the wall—a picture of his raven-haired friend, staring at him with a warm-hearted look in his eyes.

'Takahiro...'

The numbness Akihiko once felt was slowly evading his body. Within its place was a growing substance that slowly spread a great deal of affliction throughout his body.

"I'm sorry..." Takahiro had told him, "You're my best friend...but I don't think I can ever return your feelings."

Akihiko's face twisted in anguish from the memory of those words. Even though they were just words, they managed to rip a hole within his heart and created a pain that had punched through his chest and excised his most precious insides until they were ragged and broken.

"I'm not gay and I don't think that'll ever change," the voice said again.

Akihiko felt the cold wooden floor seeping beneath him, his hands shaking, and the unfamiliar rhythm of his heartbeat as the pain held him cold. It pulled him under an abyss that screamed his devastating reality:

He was rejected by the person he cared about the most.

Tears threatened to overtake him as the disappointment was nearly as instantaneous as the recognition. He felt the coldness of the wall through his clothes as he curled himself into a ball in order to keep the empty hole from tearing him apart.

"Takahiro..." He croaked, his body radiating from rejection. "Takahiro..."

Akihiko's love would never be returned.

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Placing one knee on the bed, Akihiko loosened his dress shirt before hovering over his partner. He then placed his lips on the man below him and sucked the skin of that smooth neck, earning that wanton moan he thrived to hear.

"Nngh…H-Hey!" the brunet protested, pushing the man away slightly, "I told you not to leave any marks, you ass!"

Akihiko drew back with a smirk. "I'm hurt," he whispered, meeting the brunet's gaze, "I thought you liked being 'marked' by me."

"Idiot!" the brunet snapped, a light blush staining his cheeks, "That was before Takano chewed me out about it!"

"Oh?" Akihiko questioned, raising that perfectly arched eyebrow, "I never knew you were such a worrywart, Kisa."

The older male rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed by the situation. He gave the author a hateful glare. "Whatever. Just get on with it."

Akihiko snickered, his eyes glinting dangerously. Kisa scowled, but said nothing, earning a sigh from the other. "What is it?" Akihiko asked, confused by his partner's silence.

Kisa lowered his gaze. "Nothing," he said simply, slowly wrapping his arms around the author's neck, "I was just wondering how you became so confident."

From that response, Akihiko momentarily sat up to study the naked being beneath him. Just where did that question come from—and why did it even matter?

Yes, it was true he changed over time, but the wounds that inflicted his heart had nowhere near healed. The day that Takahiro had rejected him still triggered a pain that drowned him in a sea of agony. He knew he couldn't escape this pain even if he wanted to. It had altered his insides past the point of recognition, crumbling his sense of purpose. The only way he could lessen the pain, even if only for a moment, was to distract himself with the pleasures of sex, and he did just that.

During these years, he had bedded countless individuals—desperately seeking the comfort that momentarily eased his heart from the pain.

Kisa Shouta was Akihiko's first fuck buddy—and the only one who didn't complain about being any more than just that. He'd had other partners in the past, but found them most difficult to keep around because they'd somehow get attached eventually—and that was the one thing Akihiko did not want. As soon as any partner displayed any form of affection, he severed ties with them almost immediately. It was the only form of protection he could use to avoid the pain of another broken heart.

A whine sprouted from the brunet's lips, a silent complaint that brought Akihiko back to reality. When he noticed the frustrated look in his partner's eyes, the author smirked devilishly. Even if it was temporarily bliss, he should enjoy it while it lasted.

"Who's the worrywart now?" Kisa teased, running his hands down those muscular arms.

Akihiko ignored the brunet. Instead, he leaned down and took a hardening bud below him in his mouth and circled his tongue around it. His hands ran over the pale, creamy skin of Kisa's sides, relishing the softness that lingered there. He then groped his partner's erection through his underwear, loving the adorable whimper he received in response.

"Is it me or are you growing more sensitive?" Akihiko asked, pursing his lips.

"Hardly," Kisa scoffed, "I think it's because you've gotten better." He gasped as that hand squeezed his length.

"What's that?" Akihiko mused, the amusement evident within his seductive voice, "Are we getting sentimental, Kisa?" His eyes glimmered insidiously when the brunet shook his head violently. The man chortled. "I believe it's because of the things you say that I'm so confident, you know."

Kisa snorted. "Don't get hopes up just yet. I mean, I could say that you suck in bed, but that would be a lie. Besides—" he leaned in to bite Akihiko's neck. "—I don't think you'd be fucking me every week if I told you that."

The remark drew a rare laugh from Akihiko's lips, accompanied by groans as Kisa continued to nip at his skin. Roughly, he pulled the older male's boxers off, leaving him completely exposed to the cold hands that continued to roam around his skin. Kisa yelped in surprise as he felt that cold, larger hand fondling his member. He moaned from the contact.

All of a sudden, Akihiko freed himself from Kisa's grip and traveled lower, until his lips were below the other's navel. He licked his way down until his tongue ran over the head of Kisa's already wet organ.

"Aaahh!" Kisa moaned, tangling his fingers into the silvery locks of his partner as he waited impatiently for that incredible heat to engulf him. He shivered as soon as he felt that skillful tongue, emitting sparks of electricity throughout his entire body.

Akihiko groaned, licking slowly from the tip to the base repeatedly before circling his tongue around the head and collecting the wetness that was surrounding the slit. His tongue flickered slowly; Kisa didn't taste awfully bitter, but that was mainly because he never smoked—unlike the author. He never tasted quite the same, but Akihiko didn't mind in the slightest. Hungrily, he took the head in his mouth and slowly engulfed the entire length.

Kisa screamed. It was unusual for him to get a blowjob from another man; usually he was the one who got down his knees for his sexual partner, but Akihiko was a special case. He had to admit that it was a nice change—especially since Akihiko was very good with his mouth. Those surprisingly soft lips clamped around his excited flesh, designating warmth at every angle.

"Nnh…Haa—fuck!" Kisa cursed as he felt the saliva coating his length. He tried to yank the man off, but he only ducked his head harder in response. "Aki-chaaann," He whined quite uncharacteristically, "Stop teasing me already!"

Looking up, Akihiko retracted his mouth and smirked. "You're so eager for it today," he teased, "That's so unlike you."

"Whatever! Just shut up and fuck me already!" Kisa snarled, driven mad with want.

Akihiko studied the lustful gaze directed at himself. There'd been plenty of times where he'd imagined doing this kind of thing with his beloved Takahiro, but he knew his airheaded friend would never give him the same arousing look his other partners gave him. Never would Takahiro beg to be taken by him.

Moving up to stare within those hungry eyes, the man smiled evilly.

"As you wish," Akihiko grunted, allowing himself to be momentarily possessed by the lust coursing through him. He'd gladly give up anything to be taken far away from the bitter truth—even if it was only for a few hours…

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**SuzukiChiyeko: Yup, Kisa and Akihiko. Weird, huh? xD**

**This is the first time for both me and ****lv90047 to write a story with another author, so we would appreciate your feedback ^^ Since we both have pretty tight schedules - blame college - we can't update this story weekly. Please be patient; we'll work hard :)  
**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Hunter and Hunted

**lv90047: Hey guys! Whitney here. First of all, me and my pal, SuzukiChiyeko would like to apologize for the extremly LONG update. We didn't mean to prolong this story for that long. College has been a BITCH. -_- Hopefully, it shouldn't take too long in the future. We hope you'll enjoy new chapter.  
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**SuzukiChiyeko: I need to mention that, because of what happened to him in the past, Akihiko is a bit OOC. It's not extreme, but I'd like to point it out nonetheless. Also, this chapter takes place ten years after the rejection, when Misaki meets Akihiko.**

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**Chapter 1 – Hunter and Hunted**

Clutching the paper in his right hand, Misaki stared worriedly at his current grades. He'd never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he had to admit that these grades were far below his usual standards. Just how was he going to get into Mitsuhashi University with such shameful grades?

Sighing, the brunet opened the door to his apartment. "I'm home!" he yelled, expecting his brother to welcome him home like he usually did. Surprisingly, Takahiro was nowhere to be seen. Misaki frowned, obviously confused. Did his brother go somewhere? He didn't remember him saying anything about it. Just what was going on? Deciding not the dwell on those concepts, the brunet kicked off his shoes before walking towards the living room.

It was there when surprise had fueled his features; he saw his brother, sitting on the couch with some man Misaki did not recognize. And since the stranger sat with his back to him, it was nearly impossible to see his face—not that it mattered anyway. He was too focused on those silvery locks to even care. He was gaping so much that he didn't even notice his brother had caught sight of him and was slowly rising from his seat on the couch.

"Oh, you're back already?" the older brother asked. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Just when Misaki was about to say something, the silver haired male turned around to face him, laying one arm over the backrest. For a moment, the teen could say nothing. He was literally lost within those dazzling pools of fresh lavender; he had never seen such a unique eye color before. It was utterly captivating.

The stranger smirked as their eyes locked. "Takahiro...this is your younger brother I take it?" he asked, his gaze still fixed on the teen.

"Yes!" Takahiro answered proudly, "This is Misaki." He then looked at said brunet. "Misaki, this is my friend Usagi."

Misaki gave him a skeptical look. "His name's 'rabbit'?"

A chuckle erupted from the stranger's lips. "No, no," he said, waving his hands dismissively, "My name is Usami Akihiko, but Takahiro always calls me 'Usagi'," the man explained, his stare traveling up and down the brunet's entire body before making eye contact once more, "You're very different from what I had in mind."

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?" Misaki asked, feeling somewhat insulted by that remark.

"When Takahiro told me he had a younger brother, I was expecting some younger version of him, but the two of you don't look anything alike at all."

"Well, sorry for not meeting your expectations." Misaki snapped, clenching his fists in annoyance.

Akihiko raised an eyebrow. He then stood up from the sofa and moved closer to the young man. An amused expression trailed amongst his face as he studied the teen closely. "I never said that was a bad thing, now did I?" he questioned, his lips curving into an attractive smirk.

Misaki's heart jumped. For some reason, he didn't feel at ease with this stranger. Of course, he hardly knew the man and had no right to judge him...but there was something about him that made the poor teen slightly uncomfortable.

Takahiro, who was unaware of all this, noticed the piece of paper sticking out from his brother's hand. "What is that Misaki?" he asked, moving forward to take the paper from Misaki's hand. As he unfolded it, his eyes slowly hovered over the text.

Misaki fidgeted with his hands. "Uhm…those are my results that came in today," he replied nervously, wondering if his brother would be terribly disappointed in him. He wanted to make his brother proud, and yet he had returned home with such embarrassing grades that even he couldn't look his brother in the eyes without shuddering.

Furrowing his brows, Takahiro turned to Akihiko. "Say Usagi, could I ask a favor of you?"

"Anything," the other replied rather quickly, slipping his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the couch, "What is it that you need?"

Takahiro pursed his lips. "I was wondering if you could tutor my little brother for me."

Surprise had flickered upon the teen's face. Tutoring? Just what was his brother talking about?

"Nii-chan," Misaki began to explain, laughing nervously, "You don't have to do that. Really, I'm fine—"

"But your grades aren't," Takahiro said in an unusually stern voice, "Really Misaki, how do you expect to get better when you refuse the help I offer you?"

That remark silenced the teen almost instantly. A swarm of emotions suddenly coursed through him, the first one being guilt. How could he be so stupid? He had already embarrassed his brother enough by bringing home such shameful grades, not to mention in front of a friend of his.

Misaki lowered his head. It wasn't right to deny Takahiro so thoughtlessly, especially since said man had sacrificed his dreams to raise him. No matter how much he loathed the idea of being tutored by someone he scarcely knew, it was the least he could do for his brother. After all, didn't he want to get into Mitsuhashi University to make him proud?

In an effort to erase his previous misdoings, the brunet just mumbled an affirmative, not even bothering to mask the lifelessness his tone was embarking.

Takahiro noticed the dejected expression Misaki was sporting and immediately sighed. His brother could be so sensitive at times. In order to put his younger brother at ease, he gently coaxed the boy, telling him that he wasn't angry at him in the slightest and that he shouldn't take things to heart so easily.

Hearing this, Misaki merely nodded in response. Although he didn't agree with everything said, he at least respected the kind words his brother had said to him. That much was enough for him.

Takahiro grinned, obviously relieved. He then focused his attention back towards his silver-haired friend, asking the man if he was comfortable doing the tutoring sessions he had mentioned previously. Akihiko said nothing for a moment, but merely directed his cold gaze towards the anxious teen.

Misaki gasped, desperately trying to remember how to breathe. Those eyes, those piercingly bright eyes—it felt as though they were seeing into his soul. He could hardly look away as those orbs continued to distract his train of thought, leaving him exposed at the man's mercy. A slight whimper escaped his lips.

A playful smirk designated on the man's lips upon the sight before he turned his gaze towards Takahiro and agreed almost instantly. "It would be a pleasure to tutor him," he said smoothly.

Simply by the way Akihiko said 'pleasure', Misaki started to feel uncomfortable once more. What exactly was going on inside that head of his? Although Misaki tried his hardest not to be so judgemental, doubt lingered in his mind. It wasn't long before his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clapping, and he looked up to see that it was coming from overjoyed brother.

"Thank you so much, Usagi!" Takahiro exclaimed happily, "You are one of the smartest guys I've ever met! I'm sure you will be a great tutor for Misaki."

The grin on Takahiro's face only grew wider while Misaki sighed softly. The young brunet wasn't nearly as excited as his brother was about Akihiko's willingness to help him, but he decided not to voice his feelings out loud. He didn't want to displease Takahiro again. Still, the man's hyperactive behavior was starting to irritate him a tad too much.

"Nii-chan…" Misaki began, trying to get his brother to calm down, "There's no need to…" The words he was about to say got lost into oblivion when he noticed a rather peculiar expression on Akihiko's face. He looked rather deviant, as though he was caught up in some kind of fantasy, and the way those lips were curving upwards wasn't exactly helping matters. Somehow, the man seemed to be amused, and the poor brunet couldn't stop himself from thinking that it probably had something to do with him.

Maybe Akihiko had planned something for their tutoring sessions, or perhaps he was laughing at the terrible grades. Whatever the reason may be, Misaki found it impossible to believe that it was something good. He tried to study the author's face some more, but the questionable expression faltered rather quickly and returned to a normal, neutral one.

Amethyst quickly scanned the young man before it found Takahiro again. "When will our first tutoring session be?" Akihiko asked his friend, "I suppose the finals will be in January, as usual?"

"Yes, that's correct," Takahiro confirmed, "That means the two of you will have about four months to work on improving Misaki's results. I know that you must be busy with your latest novel, so I suggest that Misaki will go to your place once or twice a week. Is that all right with you?"

"Twice a week is fine," Akihiko replied as he glanced at the results Takahiro held in his hands. He raised an eyebrow. "It seems we have a lot to work on," Akihiko sighed, "It'll probably be best if we start tomorrow."

Misaki felt somewhat insulted by the way Akihiko seemed to look down on him. He worked hard and always did his homework, yet it didn't seem to have any effect on his performances during tests.

"Is it really _that_ difficult?" Takahiro asked worriedly.

Akihiko scoffed. "Please—not with my knowledge," he stated, rolling his eyes, "I just think it's better to start now, because you'll never know what kind of problems will pop up in the long run. Besides, if I had to be honest about it…" he trailed on, fixing his gaze upon the nervous boy, "…I'm quite looking forward to teaching Misaki."

'Stop saying my name so casually!' Misaki thought angrily as the man looked away, 'It's not like we're friends.' The brunet scowled. He really, _really_ didn't like Akihiko. The guy was too intimidating and mysterious for his liking. How his brother could be friends with such a person was beyond him.

Takahiro smiled at his dear friend and guided him back to the sofa, where they both took a seat and continued their chat. Misaki was still standing on the same spot, looking at the two in utter disbelief. It was then that he started to think more about what Akihiko had said to him…and shivered. He didn't know why, but there was something wrong about the way Akihiko had stared at him. The way he had raked his eyes over his body, and had pronounced his name—it was all too seductive and equivocal.

_"I will be looking forward to teaching Misaki." _Just what was the true meaning behind those words? From the sounds of it, the idea of 'teaching' that Akihiko had in mind was very different from Takahiro's. Surely, it wasn't possible that this successful and rich novelist had a fancy for him…or was it?

Low chuckles filled the room as Takahiro told his friend more about his latest experiences, drawing Misaki's attention to the man who—much to his surprise—was very close to his brother. To him, Akihiko didn't seem like the type to socialize or to enjoy other people's company. Unlike the welcoming aura Takahiro radiated, the novelist seemed to repel others.

Putting the pieces of the complicated puzzle together, Misaki began to wonder if accepting Akihiko's help had been a good idea. He was secretly hoping that his brother would change his mind and cancel the tutoring sessions, even though he knew that assumption was no more than wishful thinking. With every second, his anxiety for the next day grew.

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**SuzukiChiyeko: Thanks for reading and hopefully until soon! Feel free to leave a review to share your thoughts :)**


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